Editor\u2019s note:\u00a0For the second consecutive year,\u00a0The Athletic\u2019s Vincent Z. Mercogliano and Peter Baugh are doing a series ranking the New York Rangers\u2019 top 10 prospects. The order is based on detailed analysis of the organizational pipeline, along with conversations with evaluators, coaches and many of the players themselves. The aim is to balance where each prospect is on his development path while weighing projected upside over time.<\/p>\n
Only prospects who maintain rookie eligibility and are yet to reach their second contract are included, bumping previously ranked players such as Noah Laba, Scott Morrow and\u00a0last year\u2019s No. 1 Gabe Perreault<\/a>\u00a0out of consideration.<\/p>\n Each of the top 10 were profiled in a series of stories that began Aug. 24.<\/p>\n No. 10: Adam S\u00fdkora, LW<\/a><\/p>\n No. 9: Drew Fortescue, LD<\/a><\/p>\n No. 8: Tom\u00e1\u0161 Chrenko, C<\/a><\/p>\n No. 7: Ben MacBeath, LD<\/a><\/p>\n No. 6: Nathan Aspinall, LW<\/a><\/p>\n No. 5: E.J. Emery, RD<\/a><\/p>\n No. 4: Malcolm Spence, LW<\/a><\/p>\n No. 3: Cole Beaudoin, C<\/a><\/p>\n No. 2: Liam Greentree, RW<\/a><\/p>\n Alberts \u0160mits showed up in New York days after the Rangers took him at No. 5 in the 2026 NHL Draft, not with the look of an excitable 18-year-old but rather with the stoicism of a player who had little interest in congratulatory back-slapping.<\/p>\n Speaking to media at the MSG Training Center in Tarrytown, N.Y., in early July, the Latvian defenseman was all business. He declined to reveal his summer plans, and similarly deflected questions about specific areas where he could improve and welcome messages he had received from new teammates.<\/p>\n It came as no surprise to those who\u2019ve worked closely with the Rangers\u2019 new No. 1 prospect.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s reserved by nature,\u201d said Oliver David, who coached \u0160mits during a 16-game stint with Germany\u2019s EHC M\u00fcnchen to end last season. \u201cHe carries himself in a serious manner. He seemed mature beyond his years in his personal life and in his game style.\u201d<\/p>\n The New York Rangers are in limbo<\/p>\n Vincent Z. Mercogliano and more<\/p>\n The Rangers appreciate \u0160mits\u2019 workmanlike attitude, but it\u2019s his no-nonsense play that made him the No. 1 defenseman prospect on their board in a loaded draft class. At least five D were in the conversation, but New York passed on several of them \u2014 notably Carson Carels (No. 6 to the Calgary Flames) and Chase Reid (No. 7 to the Seattle Kraken) \u2014 in favor of \u0160mits<\/a>. They pinpointed the 6-foot-3, 209-pounder because of his high floor and high ceiling.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a process that we go through and build a list throughout the year,\u201d said director of amateur scouting John Lilley. \u201cAlberts, to us, was the top player out of that grouping.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018A commanding presence\u2019<\/p>\n \u0160mits\u2019 relative plethora of professional hockey experience takes away some of the projection required when evaluating his peers. He\u2019s played parts of two seasons for Jukurit in Finland\u2019s Liiga, considered one of the best leagues in the world, as well as the aforementioned stint with EHC M\u00fcnchen in Germany\u2019s top league. He\u2019s also represented Latvia at the World Juniors, the World Championships and the 2026 Milan Olympics.<\/p>\n Rather than wonder how he\u2019ll fare against the best players in the world, executives and scouts simply had to watch the film.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s not many kids his age drafted who have played in two different men\u2019s pro leagues, Olympics (and) World Championships,\u201d Rangers team president Chris Drury said. \u201cIt certainly doesn\u2019t get any bigger stages than those events he participated in.\u201d<\/p>\n That led to a prevailing narrative heading into this year\u2019s draft: Among the highly rated defensemen, \u0160mits was the most NHL-ready. It\u2019s hard to dispute that claim, but that isn\u2019t a slight against his talent or upside either.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a pretty complete package,\u201d said director of NHL Central Scouting Dan Marr, who thought there was a case for \u0160mits to be the first defenseman selected and a top-three pick overall. (Instead, the first blueliner off the board was Daxon Rudolph, to the Buffalo Sabres at No. 4.)<\/p>\n \u0160mits\u2019 performance at the Olympics<\/a> was especially compelling. He had no trouble keeping pace, using his long strides and impressive reach to close gaps quickly, defend the high-danger areas and create takeaways. He glided around with poise that belied his age.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s got some habits that you see in people that are much more mature,\u201d said Rangers director of player development Tanner Glass. \u201cThe way he surrounds the puck, the way he moves the puck, the way he kind of commands the ice \u2014 he\u2019s confident in his abilities and he\u2019s got a commanding presence.\u201d<\/p>\n \u0160mits never looked overmatched in Milan<\/a>, with his crunching open-ice hit on Team USA captain Auston Matthews serving as a highlight. He downplayed it, saying, \u201cThat was just one moment in the game.\u201d But it spoke to his never-back-down demeanor.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s definitely a bit of a prick,\u201d said a Western Conference scout, meaning it as a compliment while speaking anonymously to offer a candid evaluation. \u201cHe\u2019s nasty and he\u2019s big and he moves well.\u201d<\/p>\n That combination of mobility, length and assertiveness fuels belief that \u0160mits can be a shutdown NHL defender. There\u2019s some debate about his scoring potential, with the scout saying, \u201cI don\u2019t know if there\u2019s a huge puck upside there.\u201d But an Eastern Conference scout pushed back on that notion, comparing \u0160mits to Utah Mammoth defenseman Mikhail Sergachev, who\u2019s registered three seasons of 53 points or more in his nine-year career.<\/p>\n \u201cLatvia has to defend a lot in international competition, so he doesn\u2019t get to show his offense that much until they play easy opponents,\u201d the Eastern Conference scout, who also spoke on condition of anonymity to be candid, said. \u201cLast year at the U-18s, he was a stud. \u2026 That\u2019s when he showed (his offense). He\u2019s got enough of it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u0160mits registered a modest 13 points (six goals and seven assists) in 38 games for Jukurit, but he was a point-per-game player the previous season on their U-18 team. Then he began the 2025-26 campaign by racking up 10 points (six goals and four assists) in five games for their U-20 team before earning a promotion to the men\u2019s club.<\/p>\n